Life Before Last
by Anonymous B-pass
Summary: HP fic....star's a girl with a sad history and a new girlfriend...but now she's going away to school, what on earth's a girl to do?
1. Chapter 1 Spring Whispers in a Breeze

**_Chapter 1: Spring Whispers in a Breeze _**

Star stepped off the plane and brushed a few strands of light brown hair from her green eyes. She opened the red expanses of Makura, her umbrella, frowning at the sun. Despite the heavy breeze, it was still very hot. Star hated hot. She shifted the weight of her backpack to both shoulders instead of just the one and followed her family into the airport.

It had been a full year and six months since her parent's and younger brother's untimely, house-burning deaths, and only a week since her older brother, a member of the US Marine Corps, had received orders that they were to be stationed in England.

Things moved fast after most of her family died. They had lived in northern California near San Francisco, but shortly after the funeral she moved to southern California to live with her older brother Alexander (Alex for short), sister in law Elicia, and four year old niece Keira. But not long after that they had to leave again, this time to a completely unfamiliar place. London, England. Star was depressed enough about having to leave her home of 12 years, but when she had to leave California altogether, leave the USA altogether, she was so sad she pretty much gave up speaking. Which was odd for such an outspoken person.

But now, here she was in England, not knowing what to do, where to go, who to be friends with...nothing. She felt utterly alone.

Star stayed pretty much entirely to herself for several months. She was enrolled in an English high school, which was very different from her old high school. She did, however, find one thing of interest. A Japanese girl named Isshi Tatsuya.

Okay, a special secret about Star—she's a little less then straight. There. We admitted it. If you don't like it, tough—I'm not the one making you read this story, I'm just saying it like it is.

Tatsuya was average in height, but so much more in everything else. She was slender and strong, her skin a creamy beige. Her eyes were black pools and her dark hair was shoulder length and wild, dyed a lovely midnight blue. She was amazingly smart and funny, and she had amazing taste in fashion, or at least the gothic and lolita fashions. She was the only other person than Star that Star had seen dressing like that. She felt drawn to her the very first second she laid eyes on her in their algebra class. But Star felt even more drawn later in the day when she ran into her again in her music class.

Star walked into the music room and took her seat with the rest of the kids in the choir section and silently scanned the room, examining each student individually. Sitting a little separate from the rest of the band kids, Tatsuya sat tuning a black and orange sunburst acoustic guitar, her hair falling in her face as she bent over her instrument in concentration. Star was taken aback by her beauty. Her fingers were long and thin, her arms wiry and a bit veiny, which is to be expected from someone who plays guitar, framed by a white-laced, black-belled sleeve, her collar bone accented well by a scoop-necked, form-fitting black mini dress and white-laced, black bodice. Black boots added a few inches to her height and rose to her fish-netted knees, her feet keeping time to the tune she played to check the result of her tuning.

Star's mouth hung open in amazement. She was not only skilled in algebra, but skilled in the art of making Star go "eep." She vowed never to speak to the girl for fear that her lovely face might be marred by a frown or look of annoyance at her presence.

When Tatsuya finished what she was doing and looked up, Star looked away, pretending to be pulling something out of her backpack. When she closed the zippers on her pack, she refused to even risk a glance at Tatsuya. Instead she busied herself by straighten her pleated grey miniskirt, lavender corset, and black form fitting shirt she wore under it to keep herself from becoming too self conscious. Star pursed her dark purple lips together and pushed her black framed glasses up her nose, fidgeting as she always did. As she stared down at her lap, she heard someone flop down in the seat next to her and then proceed to hold out a sparkly blue nail polished hand.

"I'm Tsu. I like your outfit."

Star's eyes widened and she looked up at the lovely creature smiling down at her. She couldn't help but notice the snaggle-toothedness of the smile. It reminded her of how a rabbit would smile if it could. She was in love with her in that very second. Unable to say hello for fear of rejection, Star tried a smile and a small bow. Tsu laughed; the sound of wind through a chime.

"What's you're name?"

"............."

Star panicked. She was sure if she tried to talk to her, Tsu would decide to hate her, but if she didn't respond, then Tsu would decide to hate her. As Star mentally tossed herself off a cliff, hours seemed to pass by in the seconds that she was unable to respond. She was SURE Tsu would frown and leave, but she just sat there, smiling and waiting. Finally, Star threw her vow off the cliff as well.

"I'm.......Star."

"Star? That's a nice name." Star proceeded to hurl herself from the cliff once again. The way Tsu said her name was too much. Her voice sang of spring and the soft lack of emphasis on syllables made her nickname sound so perfect. Too perfect for its bearer. Star stared again at her lap, smiling faintly.

"So is Tsu..."

Much to Star's surprise, Tsu let out a happy little squeal.

"Yay, you said it right! Most people call me Sue." Star chanced a glance at her. She was so lovely, and so happy with her. Star smiled timidly in return, knowing for certain that the time of her rejection would come before class had a chance to start.

Well, to make a long story short, the rejection didn't come before class, and it didn't come during class, or after class when Tsu insisted on becoming Star's lunch buddy. In fact, as it turned out, Tsu had been waiting for a good opportunity to say hello to her, for she had been noticing Star over the past few months the same way Star had been noticing her. When Star came to school wearing this particularly noticeable outfit, Tsu had felt it time for her to take action and say hi for now she had a reason to approach her. To Star's shock, it turned out that Tsu had made absolutely no friends since she moved to London from Japan with her father, who had been transferred there for work.

Unfortunately, when Tsu asked Star for her story, she was not as up to talking about it as her new friend had been. When she merely shrugged and remained silent (as she had most of the lunch period, leaving Tsu to do most of the talking) she was sure Tsu would decide she was boring and leave her alone. But she didn't, she just continued on with a story about her old band back in Osaka, Japan...

A few months went by and slowly Star stopped believing that Tsu would go away and leave her alone. Occasionally Tsu would ask Star a question about her past, but she never pressed for an answer. Star appreciated her for this and loved her more and more. As time continued to progress she became increasingly afraid of her feelings. She remembered how disliked and ridiculed she had been in California for being what she was, remembered how the last girl she'd confessed her secret to had reacted...she didn't want to tell Tsu, but she also knew that no matter how hard she tried to avoid it, some day she would have to tell her. She feared that day with all her being.

Whenever she was around Tsu she felt so happy, but at the same time so sad. Around Tsu she was able to get over the sadness of loosing her family; after all it has been over 2 years. Tsu made her forget her sadness, and even managed a few real conversations with her. Tsu helped her to gain control of her life again, which was more than she could say for the therapists she was forced to visit.

Tsu waited until Star was ready to talk about her experiences, and when she did talk about them, she didn't get analytical about it. She just put an arm around her and let her know she was there for her. The therapists barraged her with questions and wouldn't stop. They always tried to find logical reasons for how she felt and how she acted. They were who caused her to stop talking. Tsu brought her voice around again just by being there and being patient. And this just made her love her more.

Then one day something happened. One day Tsu was very quiet. She hid behind her hair all day and wouldn't look Star in the eyes. Star became very worried for her friend.

"Tsu, what's the matter?"

"Nothing, it's nothing..." Tsu's voice lacked the spring time, lacked the wind chimes. Something was very, very wrong.

"Tsu, please, what's wrong?"

She took Tsu by the shoulders and brushed her hair from her face so she could get a good look at her. Right on the apple of her right cheek spread the dark blue and purple of a fresh bruise.

"Tsu!" Star gasped. Tsu looked away. "Tsu, please tell me what happened!"

"It's nothing, Dad and I were just—"

"You're dad?" Star was shocked. Tsu's father had always been such a gentle man.

"No! Dad would never do that! Mom—" So that was it. Star remembered Tsu telling her something about why she and her dad had really left Japan. Tsu's mother. Star became very quiet and angry. "Mom came to visit."

A silence came between then that Star was afraid to break. She was so angry. How could someone hurt Tsu? Hurt someone so perfect and beautiful? Tsu began to tremble and cry and Star put her arms around her.

"It's alright, Tsu, we'll take care of this, she won't be here forever...she was only visiting, right? We can make sure she doesn't come near you again."

"No, Star, you don't understand, she only hit me because I made her mad! She only does this when I deserve it, she only hurts me when I do something wrong, and I did something very, very wrong..."

"What could you possibly have done?" Star was in shock. She knew Tsu tended to take blame on herself, but how could this possibly be her fault?  
"I told her I'm....that I'm...that..."

"Tsu...?"

"I...I can't tell you!"

Star's heart shattered. Now must be the time of that impending rejection she feared so much, and she hadn't even confessed her feelings yet.

"It's okay if you don't trust me..." Star muttered, letting go of Tsu. "I don't blame you if you want to get rid of me..."

Tsu eyes widened. "NO! Oh, God, Star, no!"

"Then why won't you tell me?" Asked Star, feeling that erge to tell her everything burning in her heart, as it had many times before.

"Because...I'm afraid...you'll want to get rid of me!"

"Tsu, you know I wouldn't do that! You're the only friend I've had in two years! I can't just dump you! Why don't you just TELL me!"

Tsu stared at her lap and crushed the material of her cut-off blue denim shorts between her fingers.

"I told her I was in love, okay!?" Tsu cried, her voice a raging winter storm. Star felt herself suddenly die inside. In love? She was in love with someone? Tears burned her eyes.

"In love! That's all? She's mad at you 'cause of that?" Star cried, trying to fight back her own storm.

"It's not that I'm in love, it's WHO I love..." Tsu blurted. Star could see her friend turning a terrible shade of red.

"Who, then?" Star demanded, feeling terrible. Terrible for being rejected, terrible for yelling at Tsu, terrible for surviving that fire two years before...terrible for everything.

Tsu leapt to her feet, "You, okay?! YOU!!!" and took off.

Star felt herself stop. Just completely stop. How could this be happening? WHAT was happening? She didn't understand anything. How could Tsu possibly love her? She wasn't worthy of Tsu's affection. She didn't deserve such a perfect person. Star sat on the lawn outside the school where she and Tsu always had lunch the rest of the day, sobbing.

When the end of school crept up on her, she grabbed her back pack and left early, not wanting to deal with the mobs of high school students. On her way home, she spotted someone standing on the other side of the street. Tatsuya. Tsu. Emotion exploded inside of Star's body and caused her legs to begin running, caused her voice to cry out Tsu's name, caused her arms to drop her backpack and encircle the small, fragile spring bunny in her arms, caused her to hold onto her tight so she couldn't run away.

"Tsu!" She cried, gazing down through tear streaked lenses at her love. "Tsu, listen to me!" She smiled down at her, amazed at the sudden turn of events. Now she was the one in action and Tsu was the shy, quiet one. "Tsu, I love you."

The two of them shared in their first kiss that day, made up, and then made out. For the first time in two years, Star felt sure and strong about something, and for the first time in her entire like, Tsu felt sure and strong about how she felt toward girls. She felt now she had the strength to stand up to her mother. That day they promised to be together forever. They promised to love each other forever and never be apart. But that night was when Star got the letter.


	2. Chapter 2 Caramel Drops

**_Chapter 2: Caramel Drops_**

Why is this happening to me? Star thought as she held the letter of acceptance in her hands. How is this happening? I won't go. I just won't go. I can't!

But Alex and Elicia didn't seem to share in her decision. Once they'd gotten over the initial shock, they couldn't have been more excited for her. Alex kept going on about his little sister; the witch. Keira didn't really understand what was going on, but because of the excitement buzzing around the small apartment, she had to share in it, as well. "Magic, magic! Aunt Star is magic!" She giggled, skipping around the living room.

"Isn't this great, Star? Aren't you excited?" Elicia asked. Star slammed the letter down on the little table next to the couch.

"No."

Star lay in her bed some hours later, unable to sleep. She looked at her alarm clock. 2:30 am. What a crazy day, and now she couldn't even sleep it away. She thought about all the crazy things that had happened to her over the past 24 hours. The fight, the confession, the make up, the letter...everything in her life was spinning circles around her head once again. Somehow she got the feeling life would never remain normal for very long. She honestly believed she'd never be normal again.

Ever since the day she lost her parents and brother nothing was ever normal. She'd been tossed around and moved so much she didn't feel like there was anywhere for her anymore, and now her only remaining family wanted to spirit her off to some school somewhere...God, if Alex hadn't been briefed by the British military as to the existence of the "magical folk," she would've thought the letter some terrible prank pulled by someone who hated her. I mean, who'd believe an owl flying through an open window, dropping a fat pile of parchment in your lap, and taking off again? As her old friends in America would have said to this sort of situation; WTF?! No chance in hell could this actually be happening.

But Star wouldn't go, not when, for the first time in 2 years, she had something to live and love for. Tsu. If she'd gotten that letter even a year before, she'd've jumped all over it. But now? No. Not now. Tatsuya was too important to her for Star to up and leave for the better part of a year.

The more Star thought about what the magical world was like, the more ludicrous this all seemed to her. But as hard as she tried to hate it, the idea of real magic perked her curiosity. The child inside her begged to take the opportunity, but her heart couldn't bear it. She couldn't bring herself to be all alone again.

Star's eyes filled with tears. She was stuck. She wanted so badly to go, but she fear the loneliness so much...she pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes. I need someone, she told herself; I need Tsu.

So she got out of bed, grabbed some sandals and a sweatshirt, and snuck out the fire escape at her window.

A few pebbles tossed against the third story window to Tsu's room was enough to wake the light sleeper inside.

"Star?" She called down in a whisper, sliding the glass open. "What's wrong?"

Star climbed up Tsu's fire escape and told her what had happened, showing her the letter.

Tsu read it several times before saying anything.

"You should go, Star, Don't let me be the reason you hold back." Star tried to argue, tried to tell her she couldn't be without her, but Tsu's lips silenced her. "I'm serious, don't skip out on this because of me." She took Star's face in her hands and looked at her for a long, long moment. "Damnit, Star, I always thought you were magic, but I didn't know you were real magic..."

"Huh?" Was Star's very intellectual reply.

"Earlier today..." Tsu smiled shyly, letting Star go. "My grandmother used to tell me stories about people with special powers. She used to tell me she could tell who was magic and who wasn't, she said she could even see what color their power was...today when you crossed the street to me, I think I felt your magic." Tsu kissed Star again. "And it was red...and smelled like fresh caramel."

Tsu's kisses melted into Star, making her feel warm and strong. After much arguing, Tsu managed to get Star to agree to attend this magic school.

"I won't have that on my conscience," She said, smiling wryly. "You never belonged in my school, anyway."

Tsu had always had a deep feel for magic and the power of the human spirit. For her, the belief and understanding for real magic came much faster than it had for Star. Star could tell Tsu wished she could go with, if not to be with her, but to take some courses herself.

So then it was decided. Star was to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardy.


	3. Chapter 3 A Line to Exit

**_Chapter 3: A Line To Exit_**

As March wisped by, August soon came. Summer was gone and Star was soon to begin her studies at her new school. This meant she had to go school shopping. Alex pulled some strings on base and was introduced to a British soldier who had just graduated a few years prier from Hogwarts. He agreed to help them out. And so they went to a place called Diagon Alley.

The soldier, who's name was Bradley, led Alex, Star, and Tsu to the back of the Leaky Cauldron, which Tsu found all too exciting and interesting, and tapped a few bricks with a long ebony black thing he said was his wand. To their astonishment, the bricks folded away to reveal a busy, bustling alley filled with stores, stands, people, and fantastic swishy clothing. Again, Tsu was bursting with excitement.

First they were led to Gringotts, where they exchanged English notes for wizarding coins, and then led about purchasing all the things Star would need to fulfill her year at the strange school. Robes, a cauldron, books, and a wand. This was, of course, a most interesting experience. Mr. Ollivander, the old man who ran the shop, was practically skipping about the place looking for the proper wand. Much of his store was demolished before they finally settled on a 12 inch, polished walnut containing the scales off a kappa.

Then Alex decided to spoil her. He took her into the owlrey and bought her a foot and a half tall grey and black, red-eyed owl. His name, Star decided, was Isshi. This earned her a lovely amount of affection and joy from Tsu.

Once their shopping was done, they decided to stop in at an ice cream shop to sample some wizarding yummies. While they were there Star learned that she was starting in at this school very, very late. Most Hogwarts students started at age 11, but she was almost 17. She would be going into the 7 year school as a 5th year. This made her worry, and no amount of coddling or comfort from Alex or Tsu made her feel any better. Her usual paranoid set in and, as she was always sure when she started new things, was convinced she would flunk out of the school within a few weeks.

Their guide, noticing how dejected and nervous everyone was becoming, decided to treat them all to a pile of chocolate frogs. When the Star, Tsu, and Alex discovered that the little chocolates hopped once unpackaged, they quickly created a new game. It was something like "cat and mouse" only with people and candy. They had no idea playing with their food could be so fun...

When the day began to move closer to dusk the crowds of people thinned to only a few window shoppers. Bradley pointed out the sporting goods store and Alex insisted on going in for a look.

Now, if this had been any normal shopping center, Star would have protested heavily to visiting a sports store for, you see, Star abhorred athleticism. She hated sports, and they in turn hated her. But, because this was no ordinary sports store, she agreed to go inside.

She wandered around for awhile, looking at things with mild interest. Even magical sports seemed sort of dull...at least, that's what she thought until she came to the large display of racing brooms. She gave a small snort of laughter and pulled Tsu over to take a look at the brooms. Tsu was all squeals and giggles as she ran her hands along the sleek handles, commenting on how lovely they were.

"Star," she said, holding up one of the brooms, "wouldn't it be fun to have one of these?"

Star nodded, trying her very hardest not to fall into the absolute desire and need for a broom. But try as she might, the brooms were just too awesome for her. As it started getting dark, Bradley, Tsu, and Alex practically had to drag her out of the store.

As they made their way back toward the Leaky Cauldron, Tsu made a show of exclaiming about something she'd left back at the ice cream place. She took off, promising to be back soon. A half hour later she returned.

"What did you forget?" Star asked once they were in the car.

"Oh nothing, it's not important. Turned out to be in my pocket the whole time."

Star raised a brow at her, but said nothing.

And so the event was forgotten and they went on with their lives.

Until September 1st. Star stared at her ticket. Platform 9 ¾?! WTF?! There was no such thing...Unfortunately, Alex had to leave for work and couldn't wait on the platform until the train got there, which, sadder still, meant Tsu couldn't wait with Star, either. Tsu pulled Star away from the crowds of people.

"You have a good time, okay?" Star nodded. "And don't worry! You'll be fine, even without me..." At these words, Tsu got a bit choked up. Her eyes became a little misty, but she put on a smile, anyway. "I'll miss you." Star could say anything. What do you say in a situation like this? Star didn't know, she'd never been any good at these sorts of things. "The year will be over sooner than you think and then we'll have all summer together." Tsu looked away from Star and bent to stroke Isshi through his cage. Her hair fell in her face; a sure sign that she didn't want Star to see her unhappy. Star reached out and took Tsu's hand.

"I love you, Tatsuya."

Tsu looked up into the faintly smiling face above her and accepted her kiss good bye.


	4. Chapter 4 Stranger's Meloncholia

**_Chapter 4: Stranger's Melancholia_**

Now Star was all alone in the train station. Great. Now what do I do? She went to the wall between platforms 9 and 10. No 9 ¾. Maybe it was all a joke, maybe she wasn't accepted to the school, maybe this was just a terrible, terrible joke. Star sighed heavily and leaned against the wall.

Suddenly she was lying flat on her back. She blinked up into the bright sunlight and noticed the masses and masses of odd looking people. All around she saw people lugging huge trunks and odd animals, talking about magic, holding wands, and all manor of things that made her heart leap to her throat. WTF. What just happened?

Something blocked out the light from above her.

"Hey, you okay?" Someone held out a black polished hand to her. Star took it and was pulled to her feet by a pleasantly plump, curvy girl with long black hair, green eyes, and some of the whitest skin she'd ever seen.

"Ya, I'm fine...thank you." She muttered, pulling her trolley the rest of the way through the wall. "What is that thing?" She asked, pointing to the wall. The girl raised her eyebrow.

"It's enchanted."

"Oh." Another intellectual reply ala Star.

"Did you transfer here from a different school or something?"

"No, well, sort of—" Star was suddenly embarrassed. This girl looked about her same age, but she'd been to Hogwarts for four whole years already. "I'm...non-magic. Well, til last March..." The girl's eyes went wide.

"Wow." Star busied herself with her squawking owl. Why is it short answers like that sounded so much better when they came from other people?

"Anyway, my name's Lucretia...but most people just call me Luci." She held her hand out again. Star looked back and timidly shook hands with her.

"I'm...Wystaer...but you can just call me Star."

Lucretia smiled. "I like that name." Then she asked a rather bold question. "Who was the girl I saw you with on the other side of the wall?"

Star turned red and was saved having to answer by a loud whistle from the train and a cry of, "ALL'ABOARD!!"

"Oh, we'd better get going! Come sit with me, you can meet my friend Sicilia." And so Star followed Luci.

They entered an empty train car and sat down.

"Silia and I always ride in this car..." She smiled wryly. "We put a hex on it so no one else could come in unless we were already in here."

Star sat down and stared at the window, but not without raising a brow at this strange girl. She curled up in the corner, wanting nothing more than to leap out of the car and run back to Tsu.

A few minutes later the door slid open and a tall, thin girl with long caramel colored hair entered the car. Her eyes were bright and smiley, colored a happy hazel. She looked like caramel ice cream; pleasantly colored, and enjoyable. Just the sight of her made her miss Tsu. Star looked at her hands and sniffed at them, trying to get a sense of how her magic could smell like caramel.

"Silia! This is Star; Star, this is my best friend, Sicilia."

"Hi, Star!" The new girl said with a bright smile. Star smiled and shook hands with her, but stayed quiet. Silia flopped down next to her and put her feet up on the seat across from her.

"So Star, what House are you in?" Luci asked. The color drained from Star's face. House? What was that!? Star curled further against the seat.

"H-house...?" She asked.

"Are you a transfer from a different school?" Silia asked.

"No, I—" Star didn't know what to say. She didn't want to be thought of as weak or lesser because she didn't know anything about this world, and was already too old to be a newcomer.

"What's your story?" Luci asked, perfectly friendly. But at the time, it just made Star feel more and more like a stranger in a place she shouldn't be. The train was already well on it's way; now it was impossible to run home to Tsu. She felt totally alone; the only one in her situation. How was she ever supposed to do anything right in this place?

Silia and Luci eyed each other and Star attempted to disappear into her seat.

"I'm...I only just got my magic a few months ago." Star explained in an attempt to convey her story.

"Ohhhhhh!" The two girls said together. Silia put an arm around Star's shoulders.

"That's all right!" She said, smiling. "My older brother's 20 and never developed any magic; mom and dad were pretty sad, but we sill love him." Star smiled. So she wasn't completely alone.

"So you're a Muggle, then?" Asked Luci.

"Muggle?"

"Yup. Non-magic folk."

"Oh." Gee, did Star feel smart.

"Hey, don't worry so much, Luci n' I'll take care of ya, I'm sure Dumbledore's got some plan for you."

"Dumbledore?"

"The Headmaster." Luci smiled. "You'll like him, he's cooky."

Star smiled, feeling a little better.

"Ooooh, I wonder what House you'll go to!" Silia cried. "I'm in Gryffindor, and Luci's a Ravenclaw."

"What are the houses?"

"Ravenclaw's the brainy house, Gryffindor's the golden house, Hufflepuff's the Italian mob house, and Slytherin's the evil house."

"So we're placed by our personalities?"

"And our potential." Explained Luci."So far no one's ever been sorted to the wrong place..."

And such was Star's trip on the train. She liked these two girls, but she knew so little of their world to really feel she could befriend them. She was sure that by the end of the night, they'd hate her. Most people did. Except for Tsu. Tsu...God, did she miss Tsu. She felt so alone and strange without knowing she was near. What would she ever do without her?


	5. Chapter 5 Glass Blues

**_Chapter 5: Glass Blues_**

It was quite dark when the train finally stopped. Luci and Silia were bursting with excitement. Apparently Silia hadn't seen her boyfriend all summer. Which made Star miss Tsu even more. Silia only went for three months...she'd have to go 9 months without Tsu. And at least Silia's time away was over the summer...she could play and enjoy her time off. Star had to go to school. WTF. Well...at least she had holidays...

All the Hogwarts students piled out of the train and milled about, wondering where to go. Several aging adults in swishing robes began calling for different age levels. One adult was so massive Star couldn't help but stare. She stared so long that the man noticed and gave her a smile and a wink. He started calling for 1st years and Star panicked. Which way should she go? With Luci and Silia and the other 5th years or the 1st years? The decision was made for her, however, when Luci linked their arms and pulled her away toward a carriage with no horse attached.

Inside the carriage, Star couldn't help noticing that she was the only one not sporting their house colors. She sort of wished she could have just gone with the 1st years...at least then she wouldn't have stuck out so bad. But since it was now too late for that, Star just leaned up against the window next to her and watched the land go whooshing by, trying to ignore Silia making smoochy noises and a tall blonde boy. God, did she miss Tsu.

Nothing, absolutely nothing, could have prepared Star for what she saw coming around the bend of the road. Not the secret wall/door at the train station, not Diagon Alley, not the huge smiling man, not even carriage drawn by nothing. Before her eyes appeared multitudes of glowing castle spires. It was like a picture out of a story book. She half expected to see Prince Charming go galloping past on his mighty steed...

When the carriage stopped she was pulled once again by Luci toward the expansive castle. It was truly an amazing sight, and it only got better as they hurried closer toward it. The grounds were massive and lush and there was the perfect amount of spooky hanging about the place from the darkness and glowing light. Star almost drooled on herself. Okay, so maybe it wasn't so bad...but before she even had a chance to be happy about getting to go to school in a castle, she thought of Tsu. Tsu would have loved to have been able to see it, too.

"So this is Hogwarts...?" Star asked, staring at the monstrous front hall. It was truly a fairy tale place. Star tried to get a good look at the place, but that was hard to do with the flood of students pushing her toward the large double doors to one side of the hall. But just before she reached the doors, a voice called her name.

"Wystaer Rayner!"

Star whirled around and tried to locate whoever it was who knew her name.

"Miss Rayner." This time her eyes found who she searched for. Standing on the steps just above the heads of the massing students was an aging woman with a stern face, tiny glasses, and dark green swishy robes. Star pushed through the crowd toward the woman. Once she was across the hall the woman led her to a small classroom.

"Miss Rayner, I am Professor McGonagall."

"H-hello..." Star said, a bit uneasily. "Is...is something wrong?"

"Heavens, no, child!" The woman gave her a bit of a smile. "I suppose you got something of a shock when you got your letter?"

Star nodded.

"Well, you will be starting a bit later than we would have liked, but that can't be helped. I suppose you are wondering how your education will be fulfilled, correct?"

Star nodded.

"You will go to class with your age group. You should be able to catch up, I've been told you are rather quick-minded."

Star stared. Her? Quick-minded? Maybe she wasn't dumb, but she wasn't ever all that great at school. She was average and all, but quick-minded? Never in her life had she ever considered herself THAT.

"Um, Prof., I don't know if I'll..."

"Be able to? Don't worry, you'll be fine."

This whole time they were in the classroom, Prof. McGonagall had been shuffling about, looking through a large desk and a wardrobe. Finally, she stood up triumphantly.

"Here we are." She set a stool down beside Star and gestured for her to sit down on it. She did.

"What are we doing?" She asked.

"I'm Sorting you." When Star merely stared blinking, Prof. McGonagall continued, "I am placing you in a House. Do you know what those are?" Star nodded, glad that she finally knew something. Prof. pulled a rather tattered hat out and placed it on her head. "Wait a moment and then we will know."

For a moment there was only silence, then a voice began to whispered inside her head, "So you prefer the name Star, eh, Wystaer?" Star jumped and McGonagall smiled again, as if to suggest that she knew exactly what was going. "Well, let's see...I see a lot of courage, but a lot of apprehension...we'll have to get you over that. Some terrible things have happened to you, very terrible...it's etched deep inside of you." Star wrung her hands, glancing around in a futile attempt to locate the source of the voice. You have a good mind, that you most certainly do...all these things you fear are nothing; if only you could see the strength you have to lead. Ah! Perfect! I know exactly where I should put you." Star braced herself.

"SLYTHERIN!"

Star froze as McGonagall took the talking hat off her head. Slytherin? Slytherin!? Wasn't that the house that Silia had said was the bad one? Fear swept through her. Slytherin. A tie and patch, both silver and green, were handed to her, the patch sporting a curling silver snake. A serpent. Slytherin. Wait, wasn't that boy of Silia's a Slytherin? Now she was really confused.

"Well, off with you now," McGonagall said, ushering her out of the classroom and into the hall, "I'm starving, and I'm sure you are, too. Just sit with the other Slytherins."

Star was so paranoid about the House she was placed in, she hardly noticed the spectacular décor of the dinner hall. She noticed the ceiling was the same as the sky outside, but now she was sure she'd never be surprised by anything ever again.

As she moved toward the table of green ties and patches she noticed the line of 1st years standing up by the head table. Sitting down in the last open seat at the green table (which was at the very end furthest from the head table) she realized that they were getting sorted. Star sighed. I guess they didn't want me getting embarrassed, or something...

When dinner was served she hardly ate. But then, she hardly ate, anyway. She picked at some chicken and tried the pumpkin juice (which was better than she'd expected it to be) and a few other things, but she just wasn't in the mood for festivities. Removing her glasses and pressing the heels of her hands to her eyes, she realized how tired she was and was more excited than she'd been in days when they were dismissed for beds.

In truth, she felt pretty euphoric as she descended toward the dungeons and couldn't help but feel butterflies. What kind of room would she have...?

Well, as it turned out, the boy Silia was fawning over, whose name turned out to be Draco Malfoy, was pretty all right. A little bit of a snooty rich boy, but he was all right. Through him she found out that the den sort of place that led on to the dormitories was called the Common Room. The room was roomy and made of stone. There were several large, green, leather upholstered easy chairs and iron tables and several fire places. She had to admit she liked it.

Her dorm room, which was occupied by four other very uninteresting 5th year girls, all of whose names she didn't bother to remember, was the greatest room she'd ever seen. The beds were tall and four-postered with forest green velvet curtains and the beds were covered with green and black satin and velvet. She couldn't wait to fall asleep in THAT. Her trunk sat at the foot of one of the beds which sat against the far wall nearest a window. The land Hogwarts rested on must have been quite a steep hill because the dungeons were pretty far down into the ground. But she was grateful for the window. She had a pleasant view of the hillside, forest and the ocean. She changed into her PJs and climbed into the comfy looking bed and let out a sigh. She'd have to figure out how to smuggle this thing home...


	6. Chapter 6 Devil's Breakfast

**_Chapter 6: Devil's Breakfast_**

Star awoke the next morning and was sad to find herself nuzzled deep in the warm, cozy plushness of her big bed. She's sort of hoped the whole thing with the wizard school would turn out to be one big nightmare. But the cloud-like feel of the feathers in the mattress and the deep forest green of her comforter and silk sheets and pillowcases made it plane and obvious that she was a Slytherin. Oh yay. She stared at the almost black-green of her velvet four-poster curtains and wished she didn't have to get up.

Reluctantly, she got up. She stretched a little, letting out a resounding POP crackle-crackle-crackle SNAP!!, which was what always happened when she help still too long - she popped her back, her knuckles, her neck and every other imaginable joint on her person. This in turn awoke the rest of her dorm room. The girls sat up and glared at her. Star glared back. It wasn't her fault she had rotten joints. Star heard a quiet giggle escape the still-closed curtains beside her. She ignored it and went to her trunk, removing her uniform.

When she was dressed, she looked into the mirror she kept in the lid of the trunk. Star didn't feel like herself AT ALL. Digging around once again inside her trunk, she found a small carved wooden box; her birthday gift from Tsu the past December. Inside it she found all her favorite jewelry. Slowly she made her selection; barbed-wire choker, several brightly colored Mardigra necklaces (bracelets), and numerous silver rings. She looked again in the mirror. She still felt off, but oh well. There wasn't much she could do.

She and the other girls in her dorm room headed down to the hall for breakfast. Finding a largely empty section of the Slytherin table, she settled into a seat. Food ladened the table and she sighed heavily. More English food. Star didn't mind the food so much; it just didn't really strike her fancy. She really missed her two favorite cooks—Tsu and her old best friend back in California. Oh well. Star's stomach rumbled loudly and she realized she hadn't eaten more than a few bites of food since before she'd left for the train station. But she didn't really feel like eating. Her stomach growled again and she decided she'd at least try to obey its call. So she put some eggs and toast on her plate and poked at it a little.

Just as she put the first bite into her mouth, there was a tap on her shoulder. Star looked behind her to find Silia and Luci grinning at her. "Why're you all alone?" They asked. Star swallowed and shrugged. "Mind if we sit with you?" Star shrugged again.

"Won't you get in trouble?" This time Luci and Silia shrugged.

"Who cares?" So the two girls flopped down on either side of her and loaded their plates with food.

"So where are you from?" Luci asked.

"London." Star answered.

"No, no, I mean where in America?"

Star stared. "Is it that obvious?" Luci and Silia grinned and nodded. "The land of the surfing movie stars."

"California?" Silia asked. Star nodded. "I've been there before—Draco's family took me to Disneyland."

Star's heart gave a small squeeze. Her family used to go to Disneyland a lot. Her younger brother was obsessed with it. Star stared at her food, now feeling even less like eating it. At the mention of his name, Draco Malfoy joined them, giving Silia a quick kiss on the cheek. WTF? What was with her? Before she met Tsu she never cared about people doing stuff like that around her. Star put down her fork and sighed. No point in trying to eat now.

Later on during breakfast a tall scary looking man wearing all black was handing out schedules. Silia and Luci explained that that was Professor Snape; the Slytherin Head of House.

"What's with this?" Star asked dejectedly. "Why am I a Slytherin if it's the evil house with the nasty head guy?"

"It's not all that bad," Draco said, "Lucretia and Sicilia just make us out to be a lot worse than we are. Prof. Snape's not all that bad." Star issued another sigh. Why me? Why why why why why? She looked down at the piece of paper handed to her.

- Charms (Gryffindor & Slytherin)

- Defense Against the Dark Arts (Slytherin & Ravenclaw)

- History of Magic (Gryffindor & Slytherin)

- LUNCH

- Transfiguration (Hufflepuff & Ravenclaw)

- Potions (Slytherin & Ravenclaw)

Well, she'd have Luci and Silia in a lot of her classes. Unless she was getting stuck with all the 1st years. But upon viewing her new friends' schedules, she found that, yes, hers and their classes were the same. Although the prospect of starting five years late made her very, very worried.

"Don't worry so much about it, Star!" Silia smiled, "I'll take care of you with Flitwick. Charms are relatively easy, and we can help you with the basics." Luci and Draco nodded emphatically. Star was beginning to feel a little reassured. These people seemed nice enough...although she was still blown away by how close they stuck to her. She didn't usually make crowds of friends very easily. Star resolved not to push them. If by the end of Charms, which she was sure would happen, Silia wanted to be on the opposite side of the room as her, she'd allow it without fuss.

While the three Hogwarts 5th years tried to console their new friend, two people were calling for Luci and Silia; one was that McGonagall lady and the other was a very small, very odd looking person. As it turned out, they were the Ravenclaw and Gryffindor Heads of House. Apparently Silia and Luci weren't supposed to be away from their tables...


	7. Chapter 7 Stoop on Somebody

**_Chapter 7: Stoop on Somebody_**

As soon as breakfast was through, Star and Draco met Silia at the door and headed for their Charms class. Upon arrival, they took a seat toward the front of the room, Silia insisting in sitting in the middle of the three-person desk. As the classroom began to fill, the tiny man Star had seen before climbed atop a pile of text books. So the Ravenclaw head of house was the Charms teacher? Hmm...

"Prof. Flitwick's part goblin," Silia whispered to her.

"Oh." Star remembered the goblins at the wizarding bank and hoped this little guy would be a bit more pleasant. Which proved true.

Flitwick welcomed his class back from summer with enthusiasm and a small hop, which almost sent him tumbling from his pile of books. Star smiled and stifled a giggle; she liked him already. But then Flitwick noticed her reaction and gave her a big grin, waving his arms emphatically at her.

"Class!" He called, calming everyone's giggles and snickers. "Class, this is Wystaer Rayner, she's new here from America." What was with teachers and introducing new student? Now everyone noticed her. Great. Just what she wanted.

"Excuse me, sir!" Silia said, waving her hand in the air.

"Yes, Sicilia?" Flitwick smiled.

"I think she'd rather be called Star, sir."

WTF? Star could have just died. Oh well, too late now. She stared at the desk top and nodded.

"Oh, all right, Star," It seemed as though Flitwick was going to continue, but suddenly a small paper wad hit him in the side of the head, again almost sending him off his tower of books. "Well!" He cried huffily, straightening himself and his books with a wave of his wand. He clapped his hands and rubbed them together with excitement and expectation. "That brings us to today's refresher lesson! Who here remembers the Summoning Spell we learned last year?" Most of the hands in the room shot up and Star felt very alone. "All right, who would like to demonstrate?"

In the desk next to them sat a girl with wild brown hair. She was waving her arm in the air and all but jumping in the air.

"Ms. Granger." Flitwick chose. The girl stood up and Silia stuck her tongue out at her.

"That's Hermione Granger; she's probably the biggest brain the school's ever seen since that Weasley boy, Percy left."

Star's eyes locked onto the quill Flitwick placed on his desk some feet from where Hermione Granger stood. What was a Summoning spell, anyway?

Hermione raised her wand and called out, "ACCIO!" The quill flew across the room and she held out her hand to catch it. Star's mouth fell open. So magic really was real. This wasn't a big joke. Am I actually going to learn how to do that?

"Now everyone!" Flitwick squeaked, "Find a partner and give the spell another go; summer is quite a time to go without any practice."

"Want to give it a try, Star?" Silia asked with a grin.

"Do you think I can really do it?"

"Sure!" Silia placed a quill on the empty desk beside them and Star took up her wand. "All you have to say is 'accio.'"

"But," Draco interjected, "This is a test of faith, Star, if you believe that a summoning spell is impossible, you'll never get that quill without having to walk over and grab it yourself."

Star swallowed hard. Did she really think she could do this? She'd never tried a spell before...she raised her wand and closed her eyes for a moment. If I don't do this, she told herself, Tsu will be really sad.

"Accio!" Star opened her eyes and caught the quill.

Silia squealed and hugged her. "You did it! Yay, Star! You did it you did it you did it!" Star felt like jumping up and down, too. She preformed magic. I'm magic...I'm really magic!

"Keira will be so excited." Star said with a grin.

"Who's Keira?" Draco asked, pulling Silia off of her.

"My niece."

As Star met Luci on her way to Defense Against the Dark Arts she couldn't have felt more elated. She actually preformed a magic spell, and Luci was as happy for her has Silia had been.

As they approached the door to their Defense class Luci started getting rather fidgety.

"What's wrong?" Star asked.

"Didn't you see who the Defense teacher is this year last night?" Luci asked.

"No..." She'd been too busy sulking.

"Well, she's creepy and pink and toad-like."

"Oh." Star was worried enough about the class, now they had a scary teacher? Great...

They opened the door and took a seat at the back. A name was written in perfect cursive on the black board behind the very pink, toad-like woman sitting in front of the class.

Ms. Professor Umbridge.

"The Ms. is a little redundant, isn't it?" Star asked Luci, who smirked.

Umbridge's eyes flitted back to them for a split second and she gave them a dark smile, but said nothing.

When the bell tolled the beginning of class, Umbridge rose from her seat and stood before the class.

Now, for those of you who have experienced a class with Dolores Umbridge, I don't have to go into the horrifically boring details about the class. It sufficed to say that it was an hour spent reading text books with too many words and elementary school statements of, "Good afternoon, Prof. Umbridge" and "Yes, Prof. Umbridge." WTF? It was boring. But in some very morbid way, Star was grateful for it. Despite the utter tedium and eye-bleeding, a class that actually started with the basics calmed Star. She figured she'd get good grades in the class. She'd hate every second of it, but at least she'd understand.

I also won't have to go into much detail about Star's next class, which she spent with Silia and Draco. History of Magic. Star usually liked history classes and figured the class would be beyond fascinating...if only her teacher weren't a monotone, droning ghost named Professor Binns. Excitement and interest are the furthest things from one's mind when attending a class with Binns.

Silia explained to her that Prof. Binns seemed particularly and annoyingly nasal today. She promptly fell asleep on Draco's shoulder. About half way through the class Star realized she must have been the only person paying even a smidgeon on attention to what he was saying. When something whizzed past her ear Draco said with a smirk that that the only thing that kept people awake in the class were the bits of paper and pebbles and other assortments of airborne projectiles bored students tended to let loose for Binns.

A group of Gryffindors seated behind her were making bets with a group of Slytherins—whoever got a paper wad through Binns' stomach got 9 sickles, through his head it was a galleon...and so on.

Star pressed through the hour of history taking a few notes now and again, spacing out for minutes at a time, and even taking a turn at "Hole in Binns". She managed to get five parchment wads right between his eyes. So all in all, the class wasn't a total waste. Maybe Star didn't think she could pass next week's quiz on goblin and troll tribal wars, but she DID had five shiny new gold galleons jingling in her pocket as she made her way to the Great Hall for lunch.


	8. Chapter 8 Trick

**_Chapter 8: Trick_**

Star, Silia, and Draco made their way from Prof. Binns' class and into the Great Hall for lunch. They met Luci at the door and talked for a few minutes about the dumbness of the new Defense teacher, the boringness of History class, the new things that Potter ass and his little friends did, and what Star should expect from McGonagall in Transifguration. Then they went their separate ways to eat breakfast.

Star and Draco sat at their table, Star thanking him for sitting with her. They ate for a few minutes, but lost her appetite pretty fast. She just didn't feel like eating...but she didn't feel like spending a ½ hour outside or in the common room or sitting their silent so she decided to give conversation a shot.

"So...who's Potter?"

Draco swallowed and glanced over at Gryffindor table darkly.

"You see where Silia is? On the opposite side of the table is Potter, Granger, and the Weasley pratts."

Star craned her neck to find them. Sitting amidst a sea of red heads was Hermione Granger and Potter, a skinny boy with messy hair.

"Okay...but what's so special about them?"

Draco launched himself into a rant about some dark wizard and surviving an attack and how he's a cocky bastard and his friends always acted so 'higher than thou' and how everyone was so obsessed with him for some reason and blah blah blah...clearly Star sensed high animosity between the two houses. Most of the Slytherins joined in on the rant, as well. Star looked back at Potter and his friends. She didn't understand most of what the Slytherins were talking about, but Potter didn't really look all that terrible. She was kind of intrigued by this strange story Draco had just told her and sort of wanted to know more. She hoped she'd be able to talk to him sometime...but she didn't voice her opinion. Draco might pick up that dish of ketchup and use it to garnish her head when he ate it.

When lunch finished, Star and Draco headed toward McGonagall's classroom with the Hufflepuffs (which Star concluded to be a house of nice but sort of boring people...). Transfiguration was apparently the class where she would learn to change stuff into other stuff...or something. She was a little afraid of this class. The night before, McGonagall seemed rather stern and icy. When they entered the class, Draco insisted on sitting in the very back of the room. McGonagall was the Gryffindor Head, so Star guessed he probably didn't like her.

When they took their seats McGonagall stood and stepped away from her desk. She regarded her class silently for a few moments before she spoke. She welcomed the class back and hoped they had a pleasant summer briskly, then turned to the black board. Everyone began removing quill and parchment and Star sighed. More notes she wouldn't understand. Yay.

Once they'd written down what turned out to be this year's class expectation, McGonagall turned to her student, once again regarding them with her sharp, spectacled eyes. Her eyes flicked to the back of the room and Star thought, when their eyes met, that McGonagall showed her the faintest, smallest, barely-noticeable trace of a smile. Star smiled back just as faintly. WTF? Why did all the Slytherins dislike her so much? They all called her an evil, batty lady. The Ice Queen. Bag Woman. Hag...and a few other things I care not to repeat to you. Well, Star liked Prof. McGonagall. But she wouldn't tell anyone.

McGonagall told the class she wanted to do a short review of everything she'd taught them. It would only take them the first week of school. She said it was because the materials she had ordered for the class to use that year wouldn't be delivered until the end of the week. So until then they would be performing a bit of review, to make sure they had the skill to handle what she had ordered from them. But although she said this, Star knew that the reason she was putting them through a review was to give her a chance to do well. But Star didn't hold it against her. In fact, Star had decided she wanted to sneak down to the kitchens sometime and bake her cookies.

By the time Transfiguration was passed and done for the day, Star could turn a pin cushion into a mouse (a cute one, too, that McGonagall said she could keep—Star named her Nao. She was slightly purple, and although everyone thought it was an accident that she was purple, Star kept it a secret that she did it on purpose), a teacup into a small blue and red fish, and Draco's shoe into a fluffy duckling. She couldn't believe how easily the skills came to her. Changing the objects and then returning them to normal (the duck and fish, at least) wasn't all that difficult. Maybe this magic thing wasn't so difficult after all...? No. It would get harder. Star told herself; it can't stay easy for long.

Star and Draco ran into Luci on her way down to the dungeons for Potions. They helped Luci to her feet and apologized for knocking her down. She told them not to worry about it, then asked Star how Transfiguration went.

As they headed down a smallish corridor toward the class a most hilarious thing happened; Star, Luci, and Draco were immersed in conversation about the cute little purple mouse named Nao and they did not realize who, with his big nose in a roll of parchment, one hand locked on the shoulder of a frightened looking Ravenclaw, was heading down the hall at the same time. None of them noticed each other until they were trying to fit through the door at the same time. The four students and Snape smashed into each other and frantically tried to squish through the doorway. Star was the first one out of the fray, and she pulled Draco out of the fray. Snape placed a hand on Lucretia's back and pushed her through. As the girl followed after Snape, Star thought she glanced Snape's hand pass over Lucretia's rear end. But she cringed it off. No way could that be true. She took it as a trick of the flickering light and found her seat toward the front of the room with Draco and Luci.


	9. Chapter 9 Words of Love

_**WARNING: Please don't kill me for the term used to describe Snape. It is not my fault my friends and I have terrible inside jokes about L'ArcenCiel!!!!!! explodes**_

**_Chapter 9: Words of Love_**

Potions was an interesting class. Prof. Snape was her Head of House; this was the only reason Star could see for why she and Draco did not suffer the same harshness as many of her peers in Ravenclaw had – other than Luci, who seemed to get along just fine with him. Or at least, as fine as one can get along with a cold, icy, militant lesbian boy. Star was pretty sure they were the only three students in the class he didn't openly hate. But Star figured that if she gave it some time, that list would quickly descend to two names...

Lucretia plopped her cauldron on the table next to Draco's and Star's. She looked a little flushed and breathless.

"What's up with you?" Asked Star.

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"You look all out of breath."

"It's 'cause this thing is so heavy!" She answered. Star thought she caught her friend glancing over at their teacher, but again she passed it off as a trick of the light.

Soon class was underway and Snape was doing what Draco and Luci referred to jokingly as his-usual-first-day-of-school-evil-teacher-"I-hate-my-students"-routine. Star watched him billow about the dungeon classroom, speaking in a low, spooky voice and threatening them with detention and various other unpleasantries, should they do anything to piss him off.

"How many of you actually remembered to complete your summer assignments?" Most of the students raised their hands. Those who did not were each issued a detention. Star's heart ran cold; first day of school and already she was given detention. WTF? But when Snape moved about the room, issuing detention notices, he passed by her. I suppose everyone knows about me...Star thought to herself, feeling a little relieved.

As is true with most first days, the first day in Potions wasn't terribly interesting. Snape spent the bulk of the hour making the students squirm and feel bad about themselves. He assigned them their first homework, which was to find a rather large weed and bring it in the following Wednesday. Then they were dismissed and they were free for the rest of the evening.

But as was always the case when Lucretia was around, Draco informed Star, it took around three years for the them to finally leave that dungeon. Lucretia was somehow extra clumsy that day, Draco explained, as she placed her cauldron in its place at the back of the room. She even dropped her book bag, spilling its contents all over the floor. She had to scoot around Snape's desk on all fours to get all the quills and ink bottles and make up and what have you that she said she _always_ had to have with her. It seemed to take her particularly long to reach her favorite red lipstick that had hidden itself beneath the desk. And then, when she finally had her things together and in her book bag, she went to stand up and "SHLOOP!!" she tripped on the strap of the bag and went plummeting forward. Thank goodness Snape was nearby, or she would have hit the stone floor and hurt herself!

But despite what seemed to be Lucretia's best efforts, she, Star, and Draco finally were out of the room and outside on the lawn where she dropped onto the grass by the lake and took a deep, sighing breath.

"What a rush that was!" She cried, laughing. Star raised an eyebrow at her.

As they sat and enjoyed the last of the sunlight, who should Star see walking alone? None other than their buddy, Silia. Luci called her over. When Silia saw them to skipped merrily into Draco's arms and smooched him on the nose. Star sighed. She'd just have to get used to it.

"So how was your first day?" Luci asked her. Sicilia shrugged.

"It was okay. Boring, but okay."

"Any classes you particularly like this year?"

Sicilia thought for a moment. "Care of Magical Creatures and Potions were a lot of fun."

Luci let out a squeal, "I ADORE Potions!!! It's so interesting! All the plants and mixing!"

"And the teacher's definitely very interesting." Silia gave her a smirk and a wink.

"He's one of the best teachers I've ever had." Said Luci, smirk back at her.

And so went their evening; sitting on the lawn and talking and playing and skipping rocks in the lake until they went back into the castle and gathered with the other students for dinner.

Dinner was uneventful. Draco had to go talk to his lacky buddies, Crabbe and Goyle – a pair of boys Star held no interest at all in becoming aquainted with – so she was stuck sitting all alone. As soon as she'd eaten the little bit of food her stomach could handle, she got up and headed back to the Slytherin Common Room. She hoped it would be empty...Star really wanted to be alone. Maybe she'd even write a letter to Tsu...God, did she miss Tsu...

When Star reached the stone wall that led to her common room she spoke the magical words ("enigmasus ormanus"), she was pleased to find the room entirely empty. Or was it? A quiet giggle came from behind her, but when she turned she heard the door to the dorm rooms close. She was alone in the room, now.

Sighing again (what a habit this has become for her!), Star sat in one of the comfy leather chairs near the fire, hugging her knees. She looked into the fire and recalled something she'd heard someone talking about. Some way to communicate to someone far away through fire. She wished she knew how to do that; she'd appear in Tsu's fireplace and then she'd feel so much happier. Feeling lonely tears prick the corners of her eyes, she pulled out some parchment and a quill. Star felt around inside the breast pocket of her robes, stroking the soft purple fir that covered Nao. What would Tsu think if she were to tell her about creating her own mouse? Smiling, she began to write;

**Dear Tsu,**

**You'll never believe what I did. I made a mouse. **

**No freaking kidding. I made a mouse. One of my teachers taught **

**me how to change objects into other objects, it's pretty cool. I made a purple pin cushion **

**into a purple mouse; I named her Nao. I think you'll like her; she's soft and her voice reminds **

**me of you. I miss you, Tsu. It's weird to be all alone again after being with you, even if we **

**weren't together very long. But I did make some friends...Silia, Luci, and Draco. Three **

**friends in two days, that's a record for me! I wish you could meet them, they're pretty cool. **

**I met Luci just before I got on the train...she said she saw you and asked me who you were. **

**I hope you don't mind that I stayed pretty quiet and didn't tell her. I don't know **

**how wizards and witches feel about stuff like that...I hope Isshi didn't surprise you. **

**Owls are a source of mail. I figured that out this morning when a million of them **

**swarmed the big hall where we eat. Tsu, you'd love this place. It's a huge castle with a forest **

**and a lake and everything you'd read in a fairy tale. I wish you could see it, you'd be really **

**happy here. I really miss you. I've decided I'm only happy when you're around, and **

**there's no way you can get me to change my mind. I can't wait til the year is over...**

**send a note back with Isshi, k? I really miss you.**

**Love, Star**

Looking at the shiny letters drying before her, she realized she didn't really feel like staying in the common room; she wanted to be outside. She folded the parchment up and slipped it in her pocket, stroking Nao's fir as she left the common room. Dinner was over by now, so she asked Draco how to get to the Owlry. He told her and asked if she wanted him to come, but she told him he didn't need to bother.

Opening the doors to the Owlry was breathtaking. The sky shone brightly with stars and not a cloud blocked them. They looked like millions of diamonds scattered upon a blanket of black, blue, and indigo velvet. There was no moon that night and all the world was dark. Star smiled to herself, feeling tears prick her eyes again. The sight was so lovely, the air so crisp and cold, the view so amazing...it made her want Tsu so badly. She wished Tsu could see this, she wished she could take a picture of it to send with her letter. She missed Tsu so badly, she wanted to run to her right then and there. She felt like exploding as emotion welled up inside her. Why did these people have to pull her away when she was finally feeling so happy and content? Tsu made her feel strong and warm and powerful. She made Star feel like she could do anything. She could touch the sky if Tsu said jump...Star pulled open the iron gate to where the owls slept and whistled for Isshi. The gray and black owl flew to her and looked at her with his read eyes. She tied the note to his leg; "Find Tsu." Isshi rubbed his head against Star and leaped from her arms into the sky.

Star lingered there on the Owlry roof for quite sometime before returning to bed...I wonder how long it will be before Isshi finds her...?


	10. Chapter 10 She Side Story

**_WARNING: DO NOT KILL ME FOR HAVING BAD JOKES ABUOT KEN FROM L'AC EN CIEL!!!!_**

**_Chapter 10: She Side Story_**

A few days past by and there was no word of reply from Tsu. Every morning Star would crane her neck to try and spot Isshi in the cloud of owls, but everyday she would be disappointed. Everyday Draco would ask her who she was waiting to hear from, and everyday Star would never say. The week went by slowly; Star passed her quiz on goblin and troll tribal wars (much to her surprise, it wasn't too scary) and managed to understand the bulk of what her other classes were attempting to teach them. Finally, half way through the second week of school, Isshi dropped onto her breakfast with a piece of blue paper in his beak. Star smiled and hugged Isshi, giving him the rest of her food before sending him away.

My Star,

I'm glad you have some friends to keep you company, at least you're not all alone. You should have seen Isshi when he found me! He was tapping on my window and when I let him in and took the letter from him, I swung the windows open to let in some air. He looked at me like I wanted him to leave without sending anything back with him! Like I'd ever do THAT. Anyway, it was really entertaining. Star, I'll just have to come see this castle of yours sometime, it sounds wonderful, I bet you're having more fun then you're letting on, you silly goose. There's no way you could be playing with magic and wands and all those things without having at least a little fun, and if you're not having fun, you'd better START having fun. I didn't send you to that school so you could be miserable! And anyway, Sweets, you'll be seeing me for Christmas. Alex told me that you can come for a visit then. And you'd BETTER come visit me or I'll be mad at you! I think I might get an owl of my own, wouldn't that be fun? I'll see if Alex will take me to the alley so I can get one . Anyway, I love you, Lamb, see you in a few months—write again soon!

Love,

Tsu

Star smiled to herself. Tsu was so great. She slipped the letter into her book bag, figuring she'd put it in her trunk that night.

All day, when Star had a free moment in class, she would pull it out and read it again. She never did put it in her trunk...days and days passed by, and it stayed in her bag. She would read it whenever she could; it made her feel better. She smiled a little more often and became a little more talkative with her friends. Things seemed to be going all right, in fact almost sunny...but then Star had a run-in with Hermione Granger.

The girl must have been having a particularly stinky day (or maybe a bad week or lifetime, Star couldn't tell which). They were passing through a rather crowded hallway between classes when someone pushed Star into Hermione's way. They collided and the stack of books and papers in Hermione's arms went flying about everywhere. Star tried to apologize and help her, but was stopped short by a House-wide glare from the Gryffindors pouring out of Umbridge's classroom. Hermione looked about ready to spew acid at her.

"You awful Slytherins are always getting in the way! Ooo, I could just—just—ooo, you make me so mad!" Hermione swept everything into her arms. "Why don't you just leave us alone?! What did Gryffindor ever do to you?" Star backed off, her hands held up defensively. She saw Hermione glance down at the stone floor of the hall. "And keep your stupid fake mouse out of the way!" She went to give Nao, who must have fallen from Star's pocket when they ran into each other, a kick, but Star shoved her aside. She swept down and grabbed the quivering pile of purple and held her delicately with both hands.

"She didn't hurt you at all, you know, don't hurt my Nao."

Hermione turned the color of her red and gold tie. "How dare you—" But Star didn't wait to hear what she had to say. She slipped Nao safely into her pocket and turned around, stalking toward the dungeons for Potions.

"What is wrong with that girl!?" Star cried, taking her seat between Draco and Luci.

"What girl?" Luci asked, dropping her cauldron onto the table.

"That Granger Gryffindor girl! I bumped into her in the halls and she tried to kick Nao!" She pulled Nao from her pocket and smoothed down her fir.

"Oh, the poor thing!" Luci cried, taking the little purple mouse and cuddling it.

"Granger's had it out for the Slytherins since day one," Draco said darkly. "Her and the other Gryffindors. I tried to accept her pal, Potter, into my circle and help him out with all the things he didn't understand, but he blew me off. Ass."

Star fumed. Granger could be as mad as she wanted at her, but to kick the little mouse? WTF? Well, whatever. S happens.

That night Star's old insomnia kicked back in. She hated it when people were mad at her...she actually felt guilty for making Hermione mad. Star sighed and got out of bed, slipping down to the common room. She didn't hear the footsteps that followed her down.

"Hey," A quiet voice called from the door between common room and dorms. Star jumped and whirled around. There stood one of the girls Star shared a dorm with. Her name was Shannon. "Sorry," She smiled, "I didn't mean to surprise you." She walked toward Star, brushing short blonde hair from bright green eyes. "I'm Shannon." She held her hand out to shake.

"Star." She replied, complying. "So what brings you to the common room?"

"I dunno, I couldn't sleep." Star couldn't help but notice the very American sound hidden below the slight Irish accent. "And I wanted to talk to you." Shannon smiled. She was very cute. Not in the same way as Tsu, but she was cute. Shannon had a very friendly face. Star recalled seeing her around every so often. She was always smiling and cheerful. Star couldn't help but notice how everyone seemed to be drawn to her. She had a boyfriend, too; a Gryffindor named Fred. Apparently they lived near each other and had known each other awhile.

"So..." Star felt a little awkward asking this, "So when did you move Ireland?"

Shannon grinned. "I lived in Arizona for thirteen years, but then my dad moved me and my brothers to Ireland to be near his new girlfriend. How could you tell?"

"Your voice. The accent didn't sound authentic."

Shannon laughed. "Fred thinks it's cute."

Star laughed. "I don't think my accent will ever go away."

"You'd be surprised what Europe can do to an American."

The two girls were quiet for awhile, but strangely, Star didn't feel awkward. This girl made her smile...and she lived in America, which gave her a small sense of security in this strange place.

"So when did you move?" Shannon asked after a time.

"A little over a year ago." Star smiled sadly. "My older brother got stationed here."

"He's in the army?"

"Marines."

"Ah. So where're your parents?"

Star faltered, looking away. "They...died two years ago."

Shannon's eyes shown with concern and her hand flew to her mouth.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't know..."

"It's alright," Star said, smiling sadly, "It's time for me to talk to someone about it..."

"You don't have to if you don't want to..."

Something about this girl reminded Star of Tsu; she was gentle and soft. She liked her already...and Star couldn't say that about many people. Shannon just seemed like a cool person.

"My house burned down over the summer while I was over night at a friend's house. We saw the smoke and went to see what was up, and it turned out to be my house. My parents an my little brother didn't survive."

Shannon and Star had curled up on the floor in front of the cold hearth.

"How sad...so you moved in with your brother?"

"Ya, and his wife and daughter."

Shannon smiled. "How old is she?"

"Five."

"Aww...I love kids."

Star grinned. "She's a bratty goth-in-training."

Shannon burst out laughing. "Learning well from her aunt, I hope!"

Star smiled. She couldn't help it if Keira wanted to be just like her aunt...

"I used to want to be just like my uncle." Shannon said, drawing on the stone hearth with a piece of charcoal.

"What's he like?"

"A cold, icy, militant lesbian boy."

Star stared. "Buh?" Why do I always sound so lame when I say things like that?

"Guess who my uncle is. You know him." Shannon grinned.

Star stared some more. "Uhh..." Oh yes, Star, SO intelligent.

"Okay, you'll never guess—Uncle Severus. But he makes me stay quiet about it."

Star busted up laughing. The first time she'd done that since the summer.

"Prof. Snape?! Seriously?! You?"

"I know! We're nothing alike. His younger sister's my mom, and after she and my dad split up he became ultra protective of me. You should have seen him when he found out about Fred and me!"

The two girls laughed and enjoyed themselves throughout the entire night of insomnia, not even caring that they'd be falling asleep all through their classes the next day.

At around four am they snuck back into their dormitory and slipped into their ironically-next-to-each-other beds, staying up just a little longer to talk just a little more.

"Ya know...Uncle Severus isn't really as bad as everyone makes him out to be...he's very kind and protective, I've always been able to trust him to take care of me."

"I never really thought he was evil like most people do..." Star said, curling comfortably around one of her pillows. "He intimidated the crap out of me, though."

"He's a good person, even if Harry always says weird things are his fault."

Shannon yawned. "Anyway, I'm gonna snooze."

Star smiled and said good night. She would have asked Shannon what the 'weird things' were, but since it was after five in the morning, she decided it could wait.

She lay awake a little while longer, thinking. She liked Shannon a lot and she really enjoyed having someone to talk to that night. She didn't even feel that impending doom oh-she's-gonna-hate-me thing she usually did when she met someone. Shannon felt truly genuine. Star couldn't explain it, but she some how just knew she had a new friend now, without having to ask or push or anything. Shannon wanted to be her friend and she wanted to be Shannon's friend...she'd have to introduce her to Tsu sometime, they'd really get along...


End file.
